FOXBORO — It's amazing how little difference there is between breathing a sigh of relief and choking.

From a physical standpoint, it's just the actions of a few particular muscles that make the distinction between life-sustaining airflow and death-inducing, unwanted closing of those same airways.

And from a football standpoint, it's only a few plays that made the difference between the Patriots once again exhaling with relief after surviving a game that was much closer than it should have been, and what could have been one of the most monumental choke jobs of their 2012 season.

The Patriots edged the Buffalo Bills, 37-31, on Sunday but did little to breathe new life into their Super Bowl dreams with their inconsistent play against a bad team. If they continue to teeter along that very line, it could very well only be a matter of time before the air, and the season, is sucked right out of them.

"Whatever way the game goes, you have to pull out the close ones," said defensive back Devin McCourty, who did just that when he made a game-saving interception with 23 seconds to play. "I think it shows the true characteristics of a team when you're in a close battle and you have to fight in the fourth quarter to win."

Sometimes, though, saying a team has "great character" is like telling someone their blind date has a "great personality." Whether or not it ends the way you want, chances are it's going to be ugly.

The Patriots are going to win the division. They'll be in the playoffs. It's all but guaranteed. But shouldn't November be the time when the question starts going from whether or not they'll make the postseason to just how far they can go?

One-point losses to Baltimore and Seattle. A two-point loss to Arizona at home. Barely beating the Jets in overtime. The Patriots have become surprisingly mediocre, and they're allowing teams that are even below that level hang around in games.

Really, are the Buffalo Bills any better than the St. Louis Rams, whom the Patriots beat so handily in London? The answer is no — the Rams have a far superior defense, even if the Bills are averaging a few more points a game offensively. There's really no rhyme or reason as to why New England can completely dominate the Rams 45-7, and then, with two weeks to prepare for a team they've already seen and beaten 52-28 this season, struggle to survive.

Nobody was really surprised that Buffalo could put up 337 passing yards against a Patriots defense that can't stop anything in the air, but they were man-handled on the ground, too. Fred Jackson averaged 5.0 yards per carry, and C.J. Spiller averaged an eye-popping 7.8, against a New England defense that is supposed to be very good against the run.

Yes, the defense came up with three turnovers, including McCourty's huge interception to seal the win. Not take anything away from McCourty, but it was just as much a bone-headed play by the Bills as it was him being in the right place at the right time.

It's true that, like a season ago, the Patriots defense is starting to come up with big plays when it needs to. But they could make things a lot easier if they start making a few small ones along the way.

"It's the way it happened (Sunday), but who knows what the script will be next week," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "We've just got to go out there and try to play well for 60 minutes. That's what we try to do every week. We want to make plays at the beginning of the game, end of the game, all through the game."

It's easy to blame how poorly the Patriots played on the defense. When Ryan Fitzpatrick finishes with a higher passer rating than Tom Brady, your defense has problems. But Brady and the offense weren't much help, and it doesn't look as if they can be that bail-out they've been in years past, helping to defensive deficiencies.

Last season, the defense looked equally as bad, if not worse, than it does now. And that team made the Super Bowl. But the difference 365 days ago was the offense was playing at a high level, instead of playing down to opponents.

The numbers are still there — they're on pace to set the NFL record for most first downs in a season, and break the franchise record for net yards — but the dominance is still missing.

It's fair to note that the Patriots could easily have two more wins if a few plays had just broken their way late in games against Arizona and Baltimore. But they just as easily could have two more losses if not for things breaking their way against the Jets and now the Bills.

Sitting at 6-3 and 3-0 in the AFC East is a great place to be as the second half of the season begins to unfold for the Patriots. But if they'd been able to show a little more consistency in attaining those six wins, maybe there would be a little bit more breathing room between them and the rest of the league.

Tim Weisberg covers the New England Patriots for The Standard-Times. Contact him at timweisberg@hotmail.com.